Inside the Star

Upstate New York has had it up to here

Lake Ontario has turned into a giant snow generator that has buried a dozen towns and cities in New York state under a blanket 2.5 metres deep, and with another 1.5 metres expected this weekend, there's no end in sight.

Lake Ontario has turned into a giant snow generator that has buried a dozen towns and cities in New York state under a blanket 2.5 metres deep, and with another 1.5 metres expected this weekend, there's no end in sight.

The same lake-effect snow – created when icy winds blasting over unfrozen lakes pick up moisture that gets dumped a few kilometres farther on as snow – has created havoc for Ontarians in Bruce and Grey counties, closing dozens of highways and burying communities under huge wind-driven drifts.

The snow off Georgian Bay and Lake Huron – more than a metre has fallen since the beginning of the week – has stranded motorists, unable to get into or leave Owen Sound, Kincardine and surrounding areas. OPP warned drivers in the area to venture out only when absolutely necessary.

But bad as it's been in Ontario, it's worse in upstate New York.

"Have to move fast. Want to at least get it off my roof," said Ray DeLong, 75, as he worked during a break in the weather yesterday with a snowblower and two contractors to clear his driveway and remove a heavy burden of snow from the roof of his two-storey house in aptly named Mexico, across the lake from Kingston, Ont.

The never-ending snowfall along Lake Ontario's southern shores has forced New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to declare a state of emergency in parts of the region.

U.S. National Weather Service forecaster Jon Hitchcock said it's just the luck of the draw, noting the unrelenting snowfall is "certainly a rare event, but it's by no means historic.

"The area east of Lake Ontario is infamous for its lake-effect snows," Hitchcock said, "and once every couple of years, they get an event of this magnitude."

State Emergency Management Office spokesperson Dennis Michalski said emergency crews are running out of ways to cope.

"This is a big one," Michalski said. "It's been never-ending, and the forecast isn't helping.

"Each storm is unique and I don't like to compare them, but this is really testing the capacity of local and state government," he said.

Randy Bateman, mayor of hard-hit Oswego, N.Y., where snowdrifts 3 1/2 metres high line the streets, said it's tough keeping up with a snowfall that just won't stop.

"The problem is that any time there's a lull in the action and we start cleaning it up, here it comes again," Bateman said. "We're just trying to keep up."

That may be the mantra for the weekend, with N.Y. forecasters calling for three more days of heavy snow, leaving beleaguered residents with another half metre of snow to clear away.

While no deaths have been attributed to the weather, kids in upstate New York's hardest-hit regions have missed a week of school, and because the buses couldn't get through yesterday, many schools in Grey and Bruce counties also cancelled classes for the day.

Ontario's Highway 21, running parallel to the Lake Huron shoreline, has been buried in snow for most of the week, but crews managed to get most sections open by late yesterday, and were also trying to re-open scores of local roads, including Grey Road 124 and parts of Bruce County Road 23.

Since most of the GTA is hardly affected by lake-effect snow, winter's worst card has been the bone-chilling temperatures, which show no signs of moderating any time soon.

Forecasters are calling for only light flurries for the Toronto region over the weekend, but daytime highs today will remain well below freezing, with a top of —7C and overnight lows dipping to —12.

A slight warming trend will push highs to about —2C by Monday, but after that it's back into the deep freeze, with highs near —9C expected for Tuesday and Wednesday.

But it's been good weather for hardy skiers, who have been indulging their passion for powder at resorts ranging from Blue Mountain, Hidden Valley, Talisman and Horseshoe. Most resorts have all their runs open, and all the groomed powder a skier could want.

With files from Star wire services

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